WCA College NIGHT

1. WCA College NIGHT Principal: Mr. Bailey Assistant Principal: Mr. Horton Counselor: Ms. Muizelaar

2. What will be covered? • Financial Aid • Scholarships • AP Testing • Master Schedule for Next Year • Summer Planning

3. FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) • Filling out the FAFSA is free • All students will complete their FAFSA by March 1st in their senior year • This is a way for students to earn FREE MONEY and other forms of financial aid • Students fill out the FAFSA every year of college for the following school year • We will have 100% of our students complete the FAFSA • Financial aid application workshops will be provided to all families

4. Financial aid programs Types of financial aid: Grants: Financial aid, often based on financial need, that does not need to be repaid (unless, for example, you withdraw from school and owe a refund). Loans: A loan funded by the federal government to help pay for your education. A federal student loan is borrowed money you must repay with interest. Work-study: A federal student aid program that provides part-time employment while you are enrolled in school to help pay your education expenses. The rate of pay is normally at a higher rate than employment students earn off campus. In addition, working on campus allows more flexibility in their work schedules.  Watch this video! Types of Financial Aid

5. Scholarships • Students are highly encouraged to sign up for the following websites in 10th grade Fastweb.com Scholarships.com • These free programs allow students to create their own student profile which in return, matches scholarships that they can apply too. • In the student’s senior year, scholarships will be given out from local agencies also. • Continuous counselor support Twitter: @rimsavid @college_experts @scholarshipguru @scholarshipcntr

6. AP (Advanced placement) • AP exams are given out to students at the same day/time nationally. • Students sign up for the AP exams at their school site. Students are not required to take AP exams, but highly encouraged. • AP exams are passed on a 5 point scale, earning a 3 and higher is considered a passing score at most schools. • Many colleges will give students college credit for passing an AP exam making it cost effective for students to participate. • The website for more information regarding AP testing is https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home?navid=gh-aps

7. Ap art history/ap euro history • Art History: May 7th (12 pm – 4 pm) • AP Euro: May 8th (12 pm – 4 pm) • EXAM: Multiple Choice and Essays • STUDYING FOR THE EXAM: Students should spend at least 20-30 minutes per night studying (beyond regular homework) • Test Prep Books (e.g. Crash Course) • Review course materials • ESSAYS!! Go to AP College Board and complete practice essays • REVIEW Sessions: • Wed & Thurs (alternating between Art Hist. & Euro) • Weekend reviews leading up to Exam

8. AP biology • “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin • AP Biology focuses on what students need to be able to do with their knowledge - combines content with inquiry and reasoning • Connect knowledge across multiple domains to form explanations • Use models to communicate & solve problems • Use math to analyze data & describe phenomena • Plan & implement data collection • How do I study for that??? • Vocabulary! • Statistical analysis - practice • Making connections – practice writing essays • Review session schedule • Study groups

9. AP Biology Sample Question Chytridiomycosisis a potentially lethal fungal infection that adversely affects some frog populations. The incidence and severity of the fungal infection can vary over time. Which of the following statements best describes the changes in the frog population that are depicted in the model above? (A) The fungus that infected the frog population was initially virulent but it later became harmless. Based on the trend over the past few years of the study, the fungus has become extinct. (B) Infected individuals gradually died out, and genetically resistant individuals became more common. The frog population recovered because of the increased frequency of resistant individuals. (C) The patterns of the curves on the graph indicate a sudden increase in the severity of the fungal infection. A large proportion of the frog population died because the individuals could not evolve fast enough. (D) The size of the frog population decreased sharply upon initial contact with the fungus. The fungus eventually became symbiotic with individual frogs, and the frog population began to recover.

10. Accuplacer Good scores on the Accuplacer can test you straight into college math and English classes. For example, if you test into English 061, you’ll have to take English 061, 062, and 098 before you can begin English 101. That’s a year and a half. Those grades are not weighted and the classes are not transferrable. It is well worth the time spent studying for the Accuplacer. Keep in mind, however, that testing 3 semesters below college level is still excellent for a 9th or 10th grader!

11. Preparing wca students for college • AP classes and testing • Dual Enrollment college classes • College visits • PSAT testing and preparation • Naviance (PSAT, SAT, ACT prep along with virtual community service tracking, and transcript A-G tracking for all high school students) • Financial aid workshops for students and parents • Scholarship help • Available counselor 

12. Dual enrollment • Students taking courses at WCA that are college courses are considered a dual enrollment course • Dual enrollment courses earn students 10 credits per course on a 5.0 (AP) GPA scale • Each dual enrollment course is only 1 semester • Each dual enrollment course counts as satisfying 1 full year of a regular high school course (except for a foreign language since these courses give students 2 full years for each semester) • Every dual enrollment course is considered College Prep (A-G) unless it is stated otherwise • Students access assist.org to determine how many transferable credits they earn.

13. College GPA • College courses and AP courses give an additional point to the GPA. • 8 semesters (4 years) of weighted courses are calculated in the GPA. • Only academic (a-g) courses count in the calculation. • Courses taken the summer between 9/10 and 11/12 count.

14. College Gpa example Non-Honors Honors English B 3 English B 3 Algebra 2 A 4 Algebra 2 A 4 World History A 4 AP Euro A 5 Chemistry B 3 AP Biology B 4 Spanish 1 A 4 Anatomy A 4 PE A n/a College Class A 5 GPA 3.6 GPA 4.16 Plus almost an entire semester of college credits completed (assuming passing scores on exams)

15. College credits So what if they complete 30 college credits while they’re here??? In college, 30 credits counts as an entire year. At UCLA, that’s a potential savings of $34,752 and means more flexibility in your academic schedule or potentially graduating earlier and starting your career earlier. By completing dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment credits you also may gain priority in selecting classes at most schools.

16. Next year’s wca schedule CLASS of 2017 • Calculus A/B or PreCalculus • Physics • AP Art History (optional) • English 101 • History 111 • Spanish 101 • Cross Age Tutoring • Independent Science Project CLASS of 2018 • Algebra II • English 10 • World History • Guidance 100 MSJC • AP Bio or Amgen Biotech • Spanish 101

17. Summer Planning • Tour colleges of interest • Create a running list of student activities • Create a college professional email address (ex. tmuizelaar@gmail.com) • Take a Coastline or MSJC summer course • Get involved in your community

18. resources • AP/SAT: Collegeboard.org • ACT: Actstudent.org • CSU Colleges: Csumentor.org • UC Colleges: Admission.universityofcalifornia.edu • Twitter Recommendations: @rimsavid @college_experts @scholarshipguru @scholarshipcntr

19. THANK YOU Go Mammoths! Ms. Muizelaar’s email tmuizelaar@hemetusd.org